Rainbow Road
by The Sushi Monster
Summary: 100 Word Challenge: xxi. blood ; Chad/Sonny - "The blood rushes to her face when he smiles in what he thinks is a cute and comforting manner, but is just really, really awkward." DISCONTINUED.
1. blue : Sonny

**Note: **Written for the 100 Word Challenge. Each word is mentioned somewhere in the drabble, but you probably wouldn't notice it unless you knew what the word was.

**Written: **May 2nd, 2009

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):** Sonny ; _Tawni, Grady, Nico, Zora_

**Timeline:** Post-Pilot

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* * *

i. blue_

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There's a tranquil, blue aura surrounding the studios the day Sonny joins. While she's filled with excitement and apprehension, everyone else seems to at peace, satisfied with life, with everything. It only draws on her fear and anxiety, and she only grows more nervous.

Tawni turns out to be her roommate, and while the girl is stubborn, snobbish, spoiled, and indefinitely annoying, she's also insecure, scared, and indefinitely nice. She has a warm heart somewhere deep inside her, and Sonny thinks they can be friends. It'll be a time-spent thing, something that will blossom and develop over time, after they spend so much time together filming and working, but it'll happen. They already have three things in common – they're roommates, they're funny, and they're girls. Tawni's _conservative_.

Grady is odd. Sonny can't describe it any other way, but that's just the way it is. He's funny, obviously, but he's sensitive and sweet and Sonny sees him as the brother she always wished she had. They hit it off immediately, a steady stream of friendship already established, a connection already formed, a bond already made. They're the gender equivalents of each other – only Sonny can't help but think she's a little bit more socially aware. At times. Grady's _bubbly_.

Nico comes off as a player and a wannabe, but it takes only minutes for Sonny to realize he's a cool guy who only tries to help whenever he can. Nico's always after the girls, and while it sometimes sets Sonny off, she knows he'd never objectify them, never hurt them. He's got people's best interests in heart. Sonny can see herself growing under his wing, being the younger sister he never had. Nico's wisdom is hidden under his exterior, but it shows up every once and while, and when it does, it can't make Sonny prouder. Nico's _protective_.

Zora's the smallest, the quirkiest, but the sweetest and the smartest. Sonny's immediately impressed by her and her humor. Sonny doesn't think Zora has much in common with her, but she'll be damned if she doesn't try to form a friendship with the girl. Sonny believes in family, and Zora just happens to be apart of it. Zora's unique and special, and Sonny feels herself grow happier, grow smarter, grow more motivated around Zora. Zora's _empathic_.

Sonny loves her new cast, even when everything doesn't go off to a smooth start. Nothing's ever easy, especially life, so Sonny doesn't complain, isn't put off by the damper in her spirits. She keeps going, keeps smiling, because everything will happen that happens. Live in the moment. Live in the present. That's her philosophy. Sonny likes to think she's _optimistic_, if nothing else.

When the cameras turn off and the lights fade, Sonny's still smiling because there's always something worth smiling about.

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	2. lost : Tawni, Grady x Tawni

**Note: **Written for the 100 Word Challenge. Each word is mentioned somewhere in the drabble, but you probably wouldn't notice it unless you knew what the word was.

**Written: **May 3rd, 2009

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):** Tawni, Grady/Tawni

**Timeline:** post-"Promises Prom-misses"

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_xliv._ _lost_

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Alone at home under the blanket of darkness, Tawni finds comfort in popcorn, ice cream, and TV. She doesn't like to do it often since an excess amount of junk food only leads to a gaining of weight, but when she does take the time to relax on the couch, there's a sense of relaxation and comfort that Tawni takes pleasure in. It's not difficult, not hard or strenuous; it's merely relaxing.

Her brain's never tired of watching drama of other people's lives. It's nice to take break and watch serials and dramas that don't revolve her. Sure, in real life she's the center of attention – or at least, she likes to be – but whenever she watches TV, she gets to take a step back and watch things unfold. It's the same when she's acting – she's stepping into someone else's shoes and she gets to see life through their perspective, gets to live life like they would.

A tear falls down her cheek as she finishes her re-watch of one of her favorite episodes of a show, where her favorite character dies. It's heartwarming and heart-wrenching and heartbreaking all at the same time and it kills her to relate it to her own life, but she can and she does and she shakes her head, refusing to entertain such thoughts.

Tawni Hart is a strong-willed woman who doesn't romanticize things. She doesn't.

Sometimes her heart feels like it's breaking when she sees her friends abandon her for other people, people who aren't friends or coworkers or acquaintances. It hurts her, but she doesn't tell them because then they'll laugh at her or worse yet, pity her and Tawni Hart can not be pitied. It just wouldn't be right.

It's as she downs the rest of her water bottle – to balance the ice cream and popcorn and chips – her cell phone vibrates. She frowns and opens it to find a message and the sender's name brings a small smile to her face. He's her friend, she knows he is, and messages from him always make her just the slightest bit happier.

_T, bring lunch tomorrow. We're all going on a picnic. –G_

Tawni raises her eyebrow, amused at the idea, but mentally files away the information in hopes that she might actually remember for once. Grady probably knows she'll forget, hence sending the message, and will probably pack an extra lunch for her anyways. But Tawni feels bad for it, and doesn't want to rely on Grady.

She tells herself she doesn't need Grady, doesn't _want_ Grady. But in reality, she depends on Grady so much, she's pretty sure she'd be lost without him. It scares her to be dependent on someone, but it's a comforting thought at the same time. It makes her feel safer at night, during the day, and just in general.

Tawni shifts around on the sofa before laying her head down on the pillow and throwing the blanket completely over her feet and arms. Her eyes flutter shut and she knows that tomorrow will be a good day, not because she'll be in the spotlight or because everyone loves her. It'll be a good day because she's going to be living it.

* * *

**Author's Note: **If this was Channy (which it will include), would I get more than one fav/alert? If that's true, it's sad. There are other characters too, you know.


	3. panda : Chad & Zora

**Note: **Written for the 100 Word Challenge. Each word is mentioned somewhere in the drabble, but you probably wouldn't notice it unless you knew what the word was.

**Written: **May 5th, 2009

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):** Chad, Zora ; _Sonny_

**Timeline:** post-"Promises Prom-misses"

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_xxxii. pandas_

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Sitting on the roof of the studio when it turns dark is the only thing that keeps Chad entertained when his mother forgets to pick him up and his father is too busy to remember him. He loves watching the twinkling lights above him, and it's especially fun when it's almost midnight so most of the light pollution has been turned off for the night, leaving him and the stars in their peaceful existence.

It's Friday the day that it's drizzling softly against his skin and the fog is blocking the full moon from shining clearly, making his hair frizz up, but despite his imagine, it's Friday, it's night, and he doesn't care. A smile grazes his face as he gazes into the sky, following the glittering stars as the form the shape of familiar images that make Chad feel warmer than he really is. Goosebumps form on his arms when he hears the steady, slow footsteps creep up behind him. He sits up to find her standing there, a small smile on her face. Chad turns around without glancing back again.

"Sneaking up on people isn't very nice."

"You should know by now that I'm an expert," she replies.

Chad rolls his eyes. "Apparently not expert enough. I clearly heard you."

"It's night, though. And silent; quiet," she says, her voice low and slightly creepy, but there's a tinge of humor and teasing in her voice that Chad ignores. "What are you doing out here anyways?"

"Mom's late."

Zora smartly says nothing in response, instead quietly taking a seat beside Chad, her feet dangling off the edge of the bench. Chad always wonders why there even was a bench on the roof, but he learned not to question weird things in the studios. It's just how things worked.

"It's cold," she says, breaking the silence.

Chad lets out a noise midway between groan and scoff. "No one told you to come outside. What _are_ you doing out here anyways?"

Zora shrugs nonchalantly. "I heard you coming up and I wanted to see what you were up to. And I was bored," she answers, her voice softer than usual. Chad doesn't give evidence to having notice this, of course, because he's not supposed to notice stuff. It's not his thing.

"Oh." He doesn't know how to answer, so he goes with his fallback. It's a simple word, a simple phrase, and he thinks it's comfortable. He idly wonders who started saying 'oh' way back when, and mentally notes to thank them.

Silence hovers for a few minutes before his cell phone vibrates and he finds himself with a text message from his mom. She's late (obviously), just left (finally), got caught up with something else (what else is new), and should be there any moment (thank god). Zora glances over at him, but when Chad says nothing, she continues staring at nothing, at everything.

"I saw your new sketch today." It's not small talk, but routine. He likes telling Zora about his thoughts on the show – no one else knew he watched _So Random!_ except Zora and Sonny, but Sonny's Sonny so she doesn't count in the whole grand scheme of things.

"Did you like it?" It's not a question of approval, but of curiosity. It's a routine question, a question asked thoughtlessly, habitually.

"It was funny," he says, the blatancy of the statement layering his voice. "I loved the bit with the panda."

"Thanks, me and Nico came up with that."

A pause, a silence again, before Chad spots headlights. He spares a glance at Zora finally, and finds her stoic face still in place. He lets himself smile, catching her eye, and she smiles directly at him.

"Have a good weekend, Chad."

"'Night, Zora."

Simple, routine, quiet – and that's exactly why sitting on the roof watching the stars give him so much entertainment. It's almost guaranteed Zora will come and sit next to him, with him, and it's guaranteed someone won't forget about him and just for that moment, he knows there's someone who cares.

* * *


	4. freedom : Zora

**Note: **Written for the 100 Word Challenge. Each word is mentioned somewhere in the drabble, but you probably wouldn't notice it unless you knew what the word was.

**Written: **May 6th, 2009

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):** Zora ; _Marshall, Nico, Grady, Tawni_

**Timeline:** pre-Pilot

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_ii. freedom_

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Zora always believes that with great ideas comes great responsibility. It's why she always takes it upon herself to make sure no one abuses the ability to be creative in their job. Credit goes where credit is warranted, to the person where the idea came from. It's a fair system and no one's complained yet. It's because of creativity, of the level of fairness, of the ease that life goes that she falls in love with her job.

It's because she loves her job so much that she's so quirky. She's allowed to be weird, to be funny, to hide in vents and the sarcophagus and sneak up on people. At school, they said she was weird, odd, didn't belong. But at _So Random!_ she's quirky one, yeah, but she's not ostracized or disliked or shunned.

She loves her job _so much_.

The appreciation didn't register with her until ages after she had joined – years, to be precise – but nowadays there's not a day that goes by when she doesn't want to hug Marshall or tackle Nico and Grady and Tawni (though of course, she'd never do that if the girl wasn't wearing bright colors – that's the sign of her good mood) and express her infinite gratitude. Because frankly, she's _thankful_, and she darn-well hopes everyone realizes it.

There's nothing she misses from home that she doesn't already have where she is. Her family came with her, she didn't have friends at eight, and she's grown a liking to the city-life of the urban areas. Nature, as far as she's concerned, is great and all, but that's what vacation days are for.

If she's to be perfectly honest, she thinks life's much better when she's working. She's young, so there's no corruption, no social dramas, nothing to get sucked into. The cast and crew are friendly and helpfully and her family's uber-supportive. There's a quality to her life she'd like to call freedom, but really that freedom comes from happiness. And that happiness comes from within her and she loves it, loves her job, and just _loves_.

Zora eventually learns that not all people are as optimistic, and hanging out with her cast-mates invokes her mischievous bone in her. She learns how to trick, to tease, and to expect the unexpected. She learns about life, and how it _isn't_ fair, despite how much she wants it to be. She learns about love, and how familiar and platonic love is so often overlooked for the want of romance. She learns about people, how they act, how they think, and how they are motivated by experiences, by their peers, by their desires.

If she didn't love her job just for the change of scenery, for the welcoming aura of the set, she'd love it because it's a best teacher she'll ever have.

She's young and ill-experienced, but she learns quickly, learns steadily. She's smarter than she looks, and she knows it. Her mother calls her an old-soul and Grady says she's special. Nico thinks she's the devil, and Tawni think she's an oddball who has great ideas. And Marshall just thinks she's funny.

Zora just thinks of herself as Zora. She's who she is and she can't do anything to change it, even if she wanted to.


	5. blood: Chad x Sonny

**Note: **Written for the 100 Word Challenge. Each word is mentioned somewhere in the drabble, but you probably wouldn't notice it unless you knew what the word was.

**Written:** May 21st, 2009

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):** Sonny, Chad/Sonny

**Timeline:** post-The Heartbreak Kids

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_xxi. blood_

* * *

It's quite frustrating for her that every time she's distraught or sad, she runs into Chad.

But it might just be because when she's upset, she usually ends up crying – she's sensitive like that – and usually when tears are running down her face and her makeup is smeared and her face is stained with blotches, she's an ugly mess and definitely doesn't look good enough for Chad Dylan Cooper.

He stops in the middle of the empty hallway and just looks at her. She stares back, not saying anything and just wallowing in the tears that continue to stream down her cheeks. He hesitantly walks forward and gains confidence when she doesn't run away or wince either.

"What's wrong?" he asks, his voice not quite sugary, yet definitely softer than usual. It has that slight sarcastic tone to it that Sonny enjoys so much that she doesn't care if she can't tell if he's being sincere or not.

"It's nothing," she replies quickly. It's obvious he'll have none of that, however, when his hand remains on her shoulder when she tries to turn around. Sonny's sobs regain in vigor and suddenly her face is in his chest.

Sonny feels awkward, crying into a guy's chest, while he has no clue where to put his arms. But eventually his arms snake up to her arms and he embraces her and already Sonny feels a little bit better. The tears slowly cease, as she uses her wrist to wipe them away, her skin getting sticky in the process. The blood rushes to her face when he smiles in what he thinks is a cute and comforting manner, but is just really, _really_ awkward. But for some reason, it's irresistibly cute and Sonny just wants to melt into a pile of goo.

She resists the urge and instead she smiles back and Chad nervously looks at his shoes. "Thanks," she whispers, the silence becoming unbearable. "I'm sorry about your shirt," she adds upon seeing the item, and Chad pulls at it before shrugging.

"Whatever," he says nonchalantly. "Yellow was never my color."

Sonny lets a small smile arrive on her face. "I thought every color was Chad Dylan Cooper's color."

"Well," starts Chad slowly, defensively, "all colors are – but, yellow looks the worst. But I look good in everything." He puffs out his chest, and Sonny can't help the giggle that escapes her. Chad glares at her in return, but it's not biting.

When they eventually part ways, Sonny can forget for that moment everything plaguing her and just be glad that Chad will always somehow make her feel better. It might be in an unusual method, an annoying and off-putting method, but _somehow_ Sonny can find a friend in Chad.

It makes her happier than it really should.


End file.
